Elimination Chamber (2015)
Elimination Chamber (2015) (known as No Escape (2015) in Germany) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE. It took place on May 31, 2015, at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. The sixth Elimination Chamber event, it was the first and only to be held in May; previous incarnations had taken place in February. Although advertised as being exclusive to the WWE Network, the event ultimately aired via traditional pay-per-view outlets in various territories. Seven matches were contested at the event, including one match on the pre-show. The event was the first to include a tag-team Chamber match. In the main event, Dean Ambrose defeated WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins by disqualification. Also, Kevin Owens defeated John Cena in his debut match at the event. Production Background The event was originally scheduled to be a house show, a wrestling show that is not televised, but it was announced during the May 11th Raw that Elimination Chamber would return and the show would be televised. The annual Elimination Chamber event was initially replaced during February by Fastlane because many arenas were not able to physically support the Elimination Chamber structure, thus making it easier to book the February pay-per-view event without the structure. WWE's other originally scheduled live event for May 31 in Greenville, South Carolina was canceled in order to bring the entire WWE roster to Corpus Christi, replaced by an upcoming episode of Raw in Greenville for November 16. Storylines The card consisted of eight matches, including one on the pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers. Storylines between the characters played out on WWE's primary television programs, Raw and SmackDown. On May 17, an Elimination Chamber match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship was scheduled for the event.On the May 18 episode of Raw, R-Truth, Sheamus, King Barrett, Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, and Rusev were added to the match. On May 31, Rusev was declared unable to compete because of an injury sustained three nights prior on SmackDown. Rusev was replaced by Mark Henry. At Payback, The New Day defeated Tyson Kidd and Cesaro to retain the Tag Team Championship in a 2-out-of-3 falls Tag team match. Later in the event, The New Day were scheduled to defend the titles in a Tag team Elimination Chamber match at the event. On the May 18 episode of Raw, Kidd and Cesaro, Los Matadores, The Ascension, The Lucha Dragons, and The Prime Time Players were revealed as challengers. On the May 18 episode of Raw, NXT Champion Kevin Owens answered United States Champion John Cena's weekly United States Championship Open Challenge. However, instead of fighting Cena, Owens attacked him, saying they would fight on his "own terms". Later in the night, Owens was granted a match to face Cena at the event. On the May 18 episode of Raw, Dean Ambrose challenged WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins to a title match but Rollins refused. Later in the night, Ambrose attacked Rollins until The Authority granted Ambrose a title match against Rollins at Elimination Chamber. On the last Raw before the event, The Authority tried to avoid the match by having Ambrose taken away from the arena in a police van before the official contract signing. However, Ambrose drove the van back into the arena and signed the contract for the match. At Payback, Naomi and Tamina defeated The Bella Twins. After Nikki defeated Naomi by disqualification in a Divas Championship match on the May 18 episode of Raw, Paige returned from injury and attacked both contestants. On the May 21 episode of SmackDown, Naomi and Tamina attacked Paige before Nikki attacked Naomi, Tamina, and Paige. Nikki was then scheduled to defend the title against Paige and Naomi in a triple threat match at the event with Tamina banned from ringside. On the May 18 episode of Raw, Bo Dallas confronted Neville during an interview and later, after Neville had lost a match to King Barrett, attacked Neville. On the May 25 episode of Raw, after Neville defeated Stardust, Dallas attacked Neville again. A match between the two was scheduled for the event. On the May 25 episode of Raw, a special broadcast of "Miz TV" with Daniel Bryan as the special guest was set for the pre-show. Aftermath After Dean Ambrose stole the WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt, on the following night's episode of Raw, The Authority demanded that Ambrose have a rematch with Rollins. Roman Reigns then appeared to tell them that Ambrose would be coming back with the belt only if Rollins was man enough for the title at Money in the Bank in a Ladder Match. Despite The Authority's objections, Rollins accepted the challenge. At Money in the Bank, Rollins won against Ambrose without any interference from The Authority. Roman Reigns tried to get another shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by qualifying in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at Money in the Bank. Reigns became close to winning the match and the Money in the Bank contract until Bray Wyatt interfered and cost Reigns the match. This began a feud between Reigns and Wyatt that would last until Hell in a Cell where Reigns defeated Wyatt in a Hell in a Cell match. Results Other on-screen personnel See also * List of WWE pay-per-view events * Elimination Chamber Category:Elimination Chamber Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events Category:2015 Pay-Per-View Events